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As MMi first reported last month, music fans in the U.S. - particularly those in Texas - were elated in February when Apple announced plans to hold iTunes Festival in the United States for the first time.

This week, during the South By Southwest (SXSW) convention in Austin, Texas, legendary and diverse performers from all genres of music have been rocking in the Lone Star State (and the iOS/Mac devices of millions more) at the first iTunes Festival that didn't take place in London.

And Apple executives seem pretty pleased with the response of bringing its annual music festival to the states. But Apple’s SVP of Internet Software and Services, Eddy Cue, said he was never certain that iTunes Festival would play out on domestic soil.

“I wasn’t sure we would ever bring it to the U.S.,” Cue tells Fortune magazine. “We have something so special at the festival in London that you had the feeling that if you did it anywhere else, it just wasn’t going to be quite good enough. You have to have the right place. The combination of Austin, which has a culture of music, and this venue is fantastic — it’s made for music.”

Apple, however, didn’t come to SXSW to simultaneously promote its products. Apple has been completely absorbed by music at iTunes Festival.

“We’re not trying to pitch our products here — it’s all about the artists and the music,” Cue said. “It’s about the emotion of the artists and the fans… We at Apple take a lot of pride in the festival because we have such admiration for what the artists do.”